The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Marshall
Blazers Bolt Past Thundering Herd, 3-0
11/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 4, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- On Senior Night at Bartow Arena, a trio of seniors stepped up to lead the UAB volleyball team in a sweep of Marshall, 3-0 (29-27, 25-20, 25-24) on Sunday afternoon.
UAB (18-12, 10-4 C-USA) finished off the home schedule in 2012 with a 10-1 record and has now won 11 of its last 12 matches overall.
Marshall dropped to 16-12 on the season and 6-8 in league play.
The UAB defense produced against the Thundering Herd, holding the opponent to a .078 hitting percentage and collected 14 total blocks, including eight in the third and final stanza.
“Our game plan from the get-go was to control the net and our kids did a phenomenal job at the net and we are very pleased with the team’s effort,” head coach Kerry Messersmith said.
In the middle of the net and making her presence felt all afternoon was senior Sam Serley. In three sets of action, Serley accounted for nine blocks and hit .571 (9k-1e-14ta) on the attacking end.
Two more seniors produced solid performances in their final contest at Bartow Arena in Kate Morrell and Alison Woods.
Morrell tied for match-high honors with 13 kills and hit .314 with six digs and four blocks, while Woods collected her 13th double-double (21 assists, 11 digs) of the season.
Along with strong play at the net, was an impressive performance from libero Rachel Fairbanks in the back row. The Katy, Texas product corralled a match-high 25 digs, including 21 through the first two sets.
In the first set was a nip-and-tuck affair, as a total of 13 ties and three lead changes took place. However, UAB prevailed in extra points, 29-27.
The Blazers were in control of the match the rest of the way, winning by set scores of 25-20 and 25-14 to earn the three-game sweep.
“All in all our kids did a nice job of stepping up. We’ve got a lot of work to do as we have a tough weekend ahead of us (at Southern Miss, at UCF),” Messersmith said.
